Tipping, hotel housekeeping?

[Runnin_Ute]

Tips - hotels, not typically. Although I did on a cruise I went on.
At restaurants I start at 15% most of the time, but I calculate differently than what is often shown on the receipt. I include the sales tax and use it as the base. So if I have a meal that comes to $23.45 including the sales tax (7.85% here at a restaurant, 6.85% most other places), that comes to $3.52 if using cash I might round one way or the other. ($3.50) If on a card it will be what the calculation comes to. (the way the register "suggestion" would be printed on the above meal ($21.61 x15% = $3.24) (20% would be $4.32) So it figures out using my method at a little over 16% (16.29% on the above) I rarely tip 20% or more, but at the same time I don't often go below 15%.

A buffet place might get a bit smaller tip. They aren't bringing my food, I am getting it. 15% will be top end most of the time, and I might go as low as 10% depending on service.

 

[MntnMan62]

I was a waiter way back in ancient times - 1978 to 1985. Back then the standard tip was 15% and rarely would you see 20%. Now it seems the standard tip is 20%. So as I see things, I got jipped. But I will say that I typically do 18% and up it if service was better. This is for restaurants. Buffet is smaller, say 12% to 15% and delivery or takeout is 10%.

 

[Sabin]

Better leave something.. or they will use your toothbrush to clean the toilet bowl...

 

[‘Bout Time]

I tip anyone who performs a personal service for me: bringing my food, hailing a cab, carrying my luggage, parking my car, cutting my hair, driving me around, etc, etc, and yes, cleaning up my room. Pretty simple —- personal service I receive gets a tip .... adjusted up or down for quality. As others have said ..... $5 per night more or less depending on various factors ...... but in my case even for one night. Stiffing them for a one night stay seems like stiffing the cabby or waiter just because I’m headed to the airport next. The thing about housekeeping is you rarely see the one who cleans your room and it is often not the same person each day. So, if somebody (anybody) performs a service for me, they get tipped.

Makes me feel good, makes them feel good, and produces better service in the long run.

I even do it when traveling. Never had a tip returned .... even in Europe.

 

[Bricksville]

I always leave $3-$5 every day if housekeeping will be doing the room. Always.

I often tell the front desk I don't need housekeeping if I'm just going to be there for a couple days, and on those days I obviously don't tip. But when my room is cleaned, I figure these people clean my toilet, and I don't care how much their wage is -- it's a way of saying I respect you.

That message obviously doesn't work in every culture, because tipping isn't normal everywhere. But it is in the U.S.

I never wait until the last day of my stay to tip if housekeeping has been doing my room during the stay. I want the person cleaning my room that day to receive my tip that day.

I just leave the tip on the pillow.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

Okay, I started this.

I always leave a modest tip. In the first place, if I can afford $100 - $200 a night for a room, I can manage a small gratuity.

Who works as a motel or hotel housekeeper in the US? A woman who makes minimum wage, has limited technical skills, perhaps limited English.

She can really use the money.

My tip acknowledges her, her labor, and thanks her.

And if I were to accidentally leave behind my safety razor, I'd like to think a gratuity would help speed it back to me.

Mostly though, it just feels right.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I've never understood why here in the states customers are expected to fill in the holes for lousy employers. It has gotten worse over the years also. I have heard so many people in the service industry complain about people that don't tip enough in their opinion. Comments like "If you can't afford to tip appropriately don't go out to eat.". I do tip well based on service but the entitled mentality burns me up. You are not entitled to one cent of my hard earned money, if I decided to give you some then that is my prerogative.

When people stop traveling the US because they have no idea who they are supposed to tip, then maybe things will change. But, I doubt it.

 

[kelbro]

I have travelled well over 2 million miles for business and NEVER heard about tipping housekeeping staff until about two years ago. I generally hang the DND sign as I don't want or need them in my room. I will stop and pick up coffee at the front desk or request that they send some up. Honestly never considered tipping them.

And in case it matters, I typically tip waitstaff at restaurants 20%+ for good service.

 

[FarmerTan]

I tip anyone who performs a personal service for me: bringing my food, hailing a cab, carrying my luggage, parking my car, cutting my hair, driving me around, etc, etc, and yes, cleaning up my room. Pretty simple —- personal service I receive gets a tip .... adjusted up or down for quality. As others have said ..... $5 per night more or less depending on various factors ...... but in my case even for one night. Stiffing them for a one night stay seems like stiffing the cabby or waiter just because I’m headed to the airport next. The thing about housekeeping is you rarely see the one who cleans your room and it is often not the same person each day. So, if somebody (anybody) performs a service for me, they get tipped.

Makes me feel good, makes them feel good, and produces better service in the long run.

I even do it when traveling. Never had a tip returned .... even in Europe.

This.

 

[FarmerTan]

Okay, I started this.

I always leave a modest tip. In the first place, if I can afford $100 - $200 a night for a room, I can manage a small gratuity.

Who works as a motel or hotel housekeeper in the US? A woman who makes minimum wage, has limited technical skills, perhaps limited English.

She can really use the money.

My tip acknowledges her, her labor, and thanks her.

And if I were to accidentally leave behind my safety razor, I'd like to think a gratuity would help speed it back to me.

Mostly though, it just feels right.

And this.

 

[The Knize]

Me, too, on "This" and "And this."

I never used to tip hotel housekeeping, but credit that to my own obliviousness. Hotel cleaning staff are generally folks who really do need it more than I do. If I can make someone taking care of me have a better day for a few bucks, it is more than worth it to me. Seems like a good rule of life, to when able, to be generous, and kind.

Generally $5 or so every morning on the bed or maybe on the pillow or the side table. Never under the pillow.

 

[redfalconf35]

I tip anyone who performs a personal service for me: bringing my food, hailing a cab, carrying my luggage, parking my car, cutting my hair, driving me around, etc, etc, and yes, cleaning up my room. Pretty simple —- personal service I receive gets a tip .... adjusted up or down for quality.

I'm happy to tip when the service is a complementary add-on (waiter at a restaurant, bellhop, complementary valet, pizza delivery, etc.), but I only begrudgingly tip when I'm also paying for the service. If I pay $20 for a hair cut, why do I owe an extra $5 because you didn't lop my ears off? What was the $20 for in the first place? I assumed it was for a well-done haircut. Same with a cab ride. Same with hotel housekeeping.

Heck, until this thread, I didn't even know that tipping housekeeping was a thing. Room service, yes, but I thought housekeeping was built into the price of the room.

 

[emwolf]

I too, used to tip 15%. I think the 20% standard is because it's laziness on the part of the tipper and greed on the part of the server. I don't tip the hotel staff unless there's some exemplary service. Wait staff I regularly tip. If it's a cheap meal I've been known to tip much more than 20% (I won't leave less than a couple of dollars) however the higher the bill, the closer I tip to 15%. I went to Jean George with a part of 6 and only tipped 15% even though the service was outstanding.

 

[‘Bout Time]

I'm happy to tip when the service is a complementary add-on (waiter at a restaurant, bellhop, complementary valet, pizza delivery, etc.), but I only begrudgingly tip when I'm also paying for the service. If I pay $20 for a hair cut, why do I owe an extra $5 because you didn't lop my ears off? What was the $20 for in the first place? I assumed it was for a well-done haircut. Same with a cab ride. Same with hotel housekeeping.

Heck, until this thread, I didn't even know that tipping housekeeping was a thing. Room service, yes, but I thought housekeeping was built into the price of the room.

It comes down to personal service. In these situations, they’re not selling you something. They’re doing something for you. That’s nice. I appreciate it when someone does something for me. So I tip them. Very different from someone who just sells me something. I don’t tip them.

I would ...... respectfully .... really, I mean that ...... suggest that if you start tipping some of these ones that care for your personal needs, you will derive more enjoyment from the experience. It might even lead to a personal relationship with them (like your barber) that develops into a genuine friendship. Pretty cool when that happens.

 

[redfalconf35]

They’re doing something for you. That’s nice. I appreciate it when someone does something for me. So I tip them. Very different from someone who just sells me something. I don’t tip them.

I guess I have a hard time seeing the difference. If somebody spends weeks and weeks of painstaking detailed labor making custom furniture for my house, I pay them exactly what was on the invoice, and not a penny more. Their service to me, in the hours and hours of finely crafting the piece without a single blemish, is unrewarded beyond the price of the furniture. If somebody spends months and months learning their inventory and the needs of their customers so that they're able to recommend the best product for each customer walking through the door, they get paid only what filters through to them when I buy the product. Their diligence is unrewarded beyond any internal company incentives. On the other hand, if I were to get a half-baked, inattentive haircut at the local chain shop, they'd expect $5 for not stabbing me on top of the $20 I paid them for the haircut. There's something about this whole dynamic that has always bugged me, and it has evolved to the point where you're considered impolite if you simply pay your bill and leave.

I do get the whole "developing a relationship" thing, but it strikes me funny that you have to pay to play. If the barber isn't making friends with people who don't pay enough extra on top of their bill, do I really care to be friends with the barber? Further, I have tipped and do tip for most of the situations mentioned. It's expected these days. I get a curt thank you and an unfamiliar smile the next time I walk into the place. I guess I need to bump my $5 up to $15 or $20 if I want the barber to notice me.

Anyway, long story short, I'm not a huge fan of tipping where the personal service is what you're paying for in the first place.

 

[Dave in KY]

I always leave $3-$5 every day if housekeeping will be doing the room. Always.

I often tell the front desk I don't need housekeeping if I'm just going to be there for a couple days, and on those days I obviously don't tip. But when my room is cleaned, I figure these people clean my toilet, and I don't care how much their wage is -- it's a way of saying I respect you.

That message obviously doesn't work in every culture, because tipping isn't normal everywhere. But it is in the U.S.

I never wait until the last day of my stay to tip if housekeeping has been doing my room during the stay. I want the person cleaning my room that day to receive my tip that day.

I just leave the tip on the pillow.

This sums up my feelings exactly Thanks for saving me the typing........I'd tip/pif you something if I knew your name and address

 

[oc_in_fw]

I'm happy to tip when the service is a complementary add-on (waiter at a restaurant, bellhop, complementary valet, pizza delivery, etc.), but I only begrudgingly tip when I'm also paying for the service. If I pay $20 for a hair cut, why do I owe an extra $5 because you didn't lop my ears off? What was the $20 for in the first place? I assumed it was for a well-done haircut. Same with a cab ride. Same with hotel housekeeping.

Heck, until this thread, I didn't even know that tipping housekeeping was a thing. Room service, yes, but I thought housekeeping was built into the price of the room.

It is becoming more of a thing because employers want to pay cheap wages, and guilt us into subsidizing them.

 

[kluber]

I think it’s always a good idea to tip lower wage service when you can.

Even if just a couple bucks, helping out others that might be financially less fortunate or young and in need of a job or even a second job can go a long way. Housekeeping generally fits that criteria in US anyway (maybe unless a high end hotel)

 

[FarmerTan]

What would you like done unto you? Would you like a tip if your boss is a cheapskate? I have tipped electricians, carpenters, etc.... people not expecting it. I probably got more out of it than they did. I sincerely doubt I'm taking any extra cash into my next life.

I've heard you have to have your cash converted into gold when you die. It is used as pavement .

 

[lancelot]

I'm sorry. I think we have taken tipping beyond the pale in the US. We all know that certain positions are wage scaled to include "tips" based on customer satisfaction with the service performed. In my 75 years I have seen this expand from such traditional positions (waiters(F&M), cab drivers, bell hops, etc, to bank tellers, housekeepers, and others to which this system doesn't apply. If the utility or cable company sends someone out to restring a wire , should that person be tipped?
People who undertip should be ashamed of themselves, but I think those who way overtip also cause a problem.
Very little is set in concrete. There might be special circumstances where a non usually tipped service is justified one. the same holds true for a very generous tip. This is of course only imo.

Regards,
Ron